VBlue becoming Ansett
 

Is it just me or is Virgin Blue becoming more of an Ansett than it is a low cost carrier. Their prices are now much higher than they were originally compared with QF and their value adding options are becoming more and more of their bread and butter.eg;
*Velocity FF
*New full service 'lounges'
*Blue zone seating
*In house maintainence
*Owning their own aircraft

I know they have the lower cost base and all that goes with it, but does any one else get the feeling that in a few years ther will only be one low cost carrier in Australia. The above listed notes are all contradictory to the southwest model which they started with and it seems to me that Virgin Blue will become the next Ansett, however they have only one model of jam packed aircraft and a cheesy customer service model that seems to be becoming less and less evident (thank god!!).

Does anyone else see warning signs here??

One can only hope that is the case.
With QF replacing some of its services with that rabble star, passengers are seeking an alternative. Its not there at present but maybe they (Virgin) have seen the light and are bridging the gap. There is no way on gods green earth I will pay to travel with Jetstar. Feedback from passnegers in darwin is "NOT impressed" at all.

I can't remember the correct term for it in marketing, but its a strategy that many corporations use. That is, enter market on base-level 'budget' level, and gradually move up (with price) as corporation gains experience & credibility, and clientele matures. Target is one example.

...disco

So, they're not the Crazy Johns of aviation anymore???:confused:

Well they will be well in front of Ansett then. ;)

Enough with the VBlue Bashing
 

Even though I dislike basicallly all Australian airliners.
Virgin is probably the best and they seem to be going well if they are able to buy new planes (they are buying 737-800, so it will be at least 10 years before they are in trouble;)) to replace the leased ones (that is smart business practice to me) ie: reducing costs.

Thanks Charles. A reminder why I have been reading this crap less and less of late.
bbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzz

Well...there you go! A post that even makes Mr Buzzy look like a mental giant!:rolleyes:

How do you equate buying new aircraft with it being "at least ten years before they are in trouble"?

I didn't know that buying new a/c suddenly immunised an airline from going under.

I think there are several which have failed within ten years of their last order for new a/c...

I recall VB used to keep the Air Fair tm.

Seems to have disappeared somewhat.

Recall seeing a Four Corners story on them prior to launch, where Sir Richard or the Brettster said they would never have lounges nor a FF program.

Should never have said never gentleman.

All I know that if I were to travel with kids, QF is likely to get the nod even if they were $20 - $30 return pp more expensive. Why?
QF give kids FREE kids packs, $10 on VB. Both ways. They feed the kids, $??? on VB. Both ways. There is free headsets, $??? on VB. Both ways.
And as a parent of one child who doesn't like face painting, I don't get my face painted, and end up looking like some pre school finger painting walking off the plane!

The Patrick/Toll merger will certainly change things, but as to whether they decide to really go head to head with QF is another thing.
Does their LCC model allow for this? To truly compete they will need to go 2 class service, not just charge extra for an exit seat.

Singapore Airlines (and the Star Alliance carriers) though might have other ideas as it must be hurting them without any reciprocal rights in this part of the world.

this is not a case of vb bashing, but a interesting view at one of this industry's major players. The reason I posted this is because I have been trying to get a seat on a velocity membership MEL to SYY and the next available seat is six months away - i though the QF FF was a sham, this one takes the cake!
there is no doubt that these changes have been driven by the TOLL / Patrick involvement. I would not be suprised if and when they remove Brett Godfrey (like they have been trying to do) the airline may struggle. BG has ben the brains behind the whole operation, forget Branson - he was meerly the cash man. BG is one of Australia's most sucessfull Managers and a true inspiration. I am concerned about the future of the airline when he goes though.

You are right to say that it 10 years is a stupid prediction, I was just giving an arbitutury figure of a airline that is going quite well at the moment. Too bad it is being destroyed by TOLL/Patrick's but that is bound to happen anyway since it was sold to them.

it will be interesting to see what effects these changes have on pilot wages and conditions, hopefully for those in VB their wages go up as they manage to establish a stronger union - something that their original framework discouraged

They Wish...:} :{ :hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

Not at all. VB hasn't got an owner(s) who want to simply sell the company for as much as possible as soon as possible, with no interest in it growing as a business!!

Oh, and no sheep-friendles or orcs in management, either...:p

Is anyone else concerned about someone who thinks Godfrey is an " inspiration "??:hmm:

NO Rewards Available for Six months
 

MARYG, I was stunned to say the least when you said that you couldn't get a velocity reward point flight MEL - SYD in the next six months!
I did some checking up, there are in fact seats available every day, checked with Velocity as well. Even if it is the very last seat available on that day it can be redeemed using points, as long as you have sufficient points available. i would suggest there was some error at the time you checked. I was panicking that my points were suddenly worthless.
Hope you find your flight !

yeah, sure you can get on the aircraft with 20,000+ velocity points each way - seriously that is a whole lot of travel to get those points. This scheme is a scam in my book. I wanted to go to Canberra for example the other day from melbourne, one way 22,500 points + $40 taxes or $109 on the net for any old bugger. It is seriously difficult to see the benifit of this program

The benefit seems to be a $69 saving. :confused:

i think ill stick to 'fly buys', do you know how many flights on VB it took to get 20,000 points? - lots!. I don't think i have spent 20 grand, but it would be close to half that amount. Thus making that $69 a 0.69% return to the customer - hardly ground breaking. Read their ad's around the traps;
'Redeemaphobia - The fear of not being able to redeem points' should be more like 'Ripoffaphobia - The fear of crap FF programs' :ugh: